The concept of fishing goes back before the beginning of recorded history, and man has continued to fish to provide food to eat and, today, as a recreational sport. As time has passed, we have developed more and more refined fishing equipment and techniques to attract and catch fish. However, as more and more fisherman are drawn to the sport, we have begun to endanger some species of fish. In order to preserve endanger species and prevent other species from becoming endangered, limits have now been imposed on fisherman as to size, type and quantity of fish they may keep. For example, due to dams, water irrigation, angling equipment and angling techniques our salmon population has suffered greatly. The spring run salmon count is at an all time low and almost to the point of declaring this run endangered. This could eliminate ocean dead-bait fishing entirely. Catch and release fishing, where a fisherman releases the fish after catching it, has become the single most important conservation tactic for the average fisherman.
However, the catch and release tactic may not actually save the fish which has been caught. A fish which has been hooked and released may very well be fatally injured. The hook removing process is particularly dangerous to the fish. During this time the fish is generally out of the water where it cannot breath; and, for a novice, the hook removing process may take long enough to endanger the life of the fish. Even more often, however, the process of removing the hook causes severe trauma to the area where the fish was hooked. Especially, if the hook was in the esophagus or dose to vital organs, the wound and associated trauma may eventually kill the fish. An additional danger is created when the fisherman is removing the hook from the fish. The removal process frequently disturbs the mucus which protects the fish from germs. When this protective coating is disturbed or removed, the fish is more likely to sicken and die. With this in mind the present invention is designed to reduce hook mortality by anglers when catching and releasing under size salmon and for trout, stripers and any fish with size limits or slot limits, etc.
A further danger, in this case to the fisherman, is damage to the hand being used to release the hook. Some fish have characteristics which may injure the fisherman. These characteristics include such things as sharp teeth, aggressiveness, sharp gill plates, and dangerous thorns, spikes or fins. These characteristics increase the chances that a fish may wound a fisherman who is trying to release a hook from the fish's flesh. Also, other animals such as sea lions may try to eat or steal the fish, which can in turn endanger the fisherman's hands.
Therefore, it is clear that there is need in the industry for a hook assembly which is easily removed from a fish while causing a minimum of damage and trauma to the fish and which also provides some protection against injury for the fisherman.